Introducing Bag Designers

Finding a new designer is always exciting, especially when you consider the tight hold some big brands have on the handbag market. Earlier this month, I was introduced to Dillon Des Pres. When I saw his line, I felt a freshness that I always yearn for; the designs are simple and natural, with a beautifully finished aesthetic.

When it came time to design Mackage x PurseBlog Nomad Bag, my idea was to make a bag that is ideal for the lady on the move, which I constantly am. When I’m home in NYC, I change my bags out often, but Vlad and I travel a ton and I’m not someone who takes along a bunch of bags when I’m on the road; they’re cumbersome to pack, they could get lost, there’s just too much hassle.

I’ve been super excited to share the bag I designed with Mackage, and the time is finally here! We’re pleased to introduce the Mackage x PurseBlog Nomad Bag, which I helped design with the hectic lives of modern women in mind.

I just love it when a European retailer comes stateside. Not only does it make shopping more convenient for me and my fellow Americans, but it brings a more diverse point of view into the marketplace – European luxury retail buys tend to include quirkier, riskier items than those from US companies, so the selections often offer a little bit of attitude that’s harder to put your hands on in American department stores.

We’ve long lamented the dearth of reasonably priced handbag lines with a modern look, and lately, our prayers have begun to find answers. First Mansur Gavriel came along, with its elegant, understated line of functional handbags and totes, and now we’ve found KARA Handbags, a young line that just got picked up by ShopBop.

It’s long been clear that everyone from reality TV stars to the privileged daughters of billionaires thinks that they can design super-expensive handbags, and now it’s time to add another name to the non-intuitive list: Bentley Motors. That’s right, the world-famous maker of ultra-premium autos has decided to try its immaculately gloved hand at the whole handbag thing, to varying results.

Alice + Olivia’s signature brand of exuberant girlishness has been delighting the brand’s many fans for years, but for that whole time, something very important has been missing: handbags. Obviously that’s a gap in the brand’s product line that really hit us right in the heart, so we’re pretty pleased to tell you that Alice + Olivia handbags are now available for your ordering pleasure.

If Hermes’ continually increasing profitability and Louis Vuitton’s recent shift toward capitalizing on its history with more high-end, all-leather products is any indication, the ultra-high-end leather goods market seems to have a nearly infinite hunger for heritage goods, and French heritage in particular.

We’ve been awaiting this moment more or less since the day that Alexander Wang was announced as the new creative director at Balenciaga: we now know what Wang’s first flagship bag for the brand, the Balenciaga Le Dix Bag, will look like.

It’s only been a couple seasons since Brian Atwood launched B Brian Atwood, a reasonably affordable footwear line aimed at contemporary customers and styled like his uber-expensive eponymous line, and it’s been a success, to say the least. Young customers have responded positively to the metallic finishes, vertiginous heels and comfy flats alike, and now Atwood’s taken the next logical step with his baby brand: B Brian Atwood Handbags, which just launched exclusively at Bloomingdale’s.